The Minoans were an ancient civilisation based in Crete between about 2600 BC and 1100 BC. There are believed to have been 90 Minoan cities in Crete at one time, and the largest of the Minoan palaces was unearthed very close to Heraklion in the 1900's by a British archaeologist. This is called the Palace of Knossos, and comprised over 1,000 rooms.
The artifacts found there and now on display in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum show the Minoans were an advanced society.
The artifacts found there and now on display in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum show the Minoans were an advanced society.
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| These double-headed axes, from huge to tiny, are a distinctive Minoan artifact. |
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| A stone jug. |
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| These little figurines from 2000 BC could have been modern sculpture. |
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| This famous intricate gold brooch comprises two bees head-to-head. |
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| A wooden model illustrating the size and layout of Knossos Palace. |
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| The Phaestos Disk - has never been decoded. |
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| Small tablets inscribed with the "Linear-A" text used by Minoans. |
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| The museum has hundreds of bronze weapons like these, often with gold decorations. |
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| Large pottery goddess figures, dated about 1200 BC. |
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| Archaeologists found many bull-related artworks and artifacts. |
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| Sue and a large crow (?). |
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| Magnificent stone and bronze bull. |
Visiting the museum in Heraklion gave us a much better understanding of the Minoans than did visiting the palace archaeological site. All the significant artifacts found at the site are now in the museum, and the site is of course just the remnants of what was once there. The most "complete" parts of the palace visible today were actually reconstructed by the archaeologist Evans in the early 1900's so are not actually the original structures.
